“Loving Jesus!”
1 Peter 1:3-9
Davie P. Nolte
Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and
undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the
power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this
you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been
distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold
which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you
love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice
with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the
salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NASB)
We have not seen Him, but we love Him. What is loving Jesus? How do we love Him?
What does loving Jesus really mean? Is it an emotion? Not essentially, though loving
Him can and ought to generate an emotion. Is it admiring Him for the fine and lofty
example He set? Is it being a Jesus Fan or Freak? Let’s get Jesus’ answer about how to
love Him:
I. LOVING JESUS MEANS KEEPING HIM IN FIRST PLACE:
A. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37
(NASB).
1. Jesus does not take away or minimize the need to love parents and children.
2. We know that honoring our parents is right and good; we know that parents are
supposed to love their children and, in fact, it is abnormal not to do so.
3. Jesus chided the Pharisees for manufacturing an excuse not to take care of their
parents. Note: “Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem
and said, ‘Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do
not wash their hands when they eat bread.’ And He answered and said to them,
‘Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your
tradition? For God said, “HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,” and, “HE
WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.”
But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever I have that would
help you has been given to God,’ he is not to honor his father or his mother.'
And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.’”
Matthew 15:1-6 (NASB).
B. The fact is, if we obey this teaching, the more we love parents and children the
more we love Jesus! It’s just a matter of priority and of rank and order.
1. At the head of the Christian’s priority list must be Jesus followed by family,
church, work and so on.
2. The sad truth is that too many put sports, education, amusement, and other
personal pursuits of all kinds ahead of Jesus! They reason, “I must live; I must
make so much money; I must be clothed; I must be fed." Jesus said, "But seek
first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you.” Matthew 6:33 (NASB) That means putting Him first!
C. Where is Jesus in your life? In your schedule? In your priorities?
1. For some He is a spare tire – in the trunk, out of sight until needed.
2. For some He is A good-luck charm, fending off ill fortune without being noticed
very much.
3. For Paul He was life itself, as he put it, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain.” Philippians 1:21 (RSV).
D. In 1932, a copy of the poem by Rhea F. Miller was laid on top of an organ
Seated at the organ was 23-year-old George Beverly Shea. He set the poem to
music and it became one of his most famous songs. What he sang was,
I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land,
Yes, I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
I'd rather have Jesus than worldly applause,
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame,
I'd rather be true to His holy name.
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin's dread sway
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
E. Someone rightly said, “Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all!”
LOVING JESUS MEANS KEEPING HIM IN FIRST PLACE.
II. LOVING JESUS MEANS OBEYING HIM:
A. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15
(NASB).
1. We cannot truthfully say we know Him apart from obedience as John wrote,
“And by this we may be sure that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He who says ‘I know Him’ but disobeys His commandments is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:3-4 (RSV).
2. We cannot claim to have real faith without obedience. Paul wrote that the
Gospel is made known to bring about “the obedience of faith.” Romans 16:25-
26
3. We cannot be saved without obedience as the Hebrew letter says, “Although he
was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered; and being made
perfect He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,”
Hebrews 5:8-9 (RSV).
B. The truth is that everyone will eventually bow in submission to Jesus. Paul
wrote, “God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always
obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both
to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:8-13 (RSV).
1. Some will bow in willing obedience by faith.
2. Others will bow by compulsion and against their will.
3. It would be wise to bow by choice now, rather than to be forced to do so then, to
your utter humiliation.
4. Some think obedience is too hard or too costly. But Someone said, “The cost of
obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.
C. When we love someone, nothing is too hard, or demanding, or costly and we
want to do and be and give what makes them happy. So it is with obeying Jesus
– if we love him, we will!
D. If we believe as the song said that He is “King of kings and Lord of lords,” we
would immediately, unconditionally, unquestioningly, unhesitatingly obey.
E. Let me illustrate instant and unquestioning obedience. The story is told of two
elderly, timid ladies who got into an elevator and then a burly fellow with a dog
on a leash got on, too. The door closed and the man commanded, “Sit!” The dog
obediently sat – and so did the ladies! Both thought he was speaking to them and
they instantly obeyed the command!
THAT’S THE KIND OF OBEDIENCE TO JESUS THAT TRULY SAYS, “I LOVE
YOU!”
III. LOVING JESUS MEANS LOVING ONE ANOTHER:
A. John wrote, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for
the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom
he has not seen.” 1 John 4:20 (NASB).
1. Paul said, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love
one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor”
Romans 12:9, 10 (RSV).
2. Jesus gave two specific commands about love of others:
a. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even
as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34 (RSV).
b. And surprisingly, He said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you.” Matthew 5:44 (RSV).
B. Here are some truths about loving others, especially enemies:
1. It is not an emotional, romantic love that Jesus commanded.
a. It is doing good to others, even enemies, without resenting it.
b. It s intelligent good will that seeks the best for the other person, friend and foe
alike.
2. It is Christlike love:
a. Unearned.
b. Unconditional..
c. Unending.
d. Unselfish.
e. Unbiased.
C. Loving as Christ:
1. Is not an “I will love you if you meet certain specified requirements.”
2. Is not an “I love you because you are, and do, what pleases me.”
3. Is an “I love you in spite of your failures and betrayals and disobedience.”
D. Only loving the loveable, the easy to love, the ones who please us is easy –
pagans can do that! But to love the unlovely, the difficult, the ones who
displease us is Divine and Christlike. When we love others like that, we can
truly say to Jesus, “I love you!” Let me give you a challenge. Right now think
of someone you don’t love.
1. Why don’t you love them?
2. Do you believe that Jesus loves them?
3. Do you believe that Jesus wants you to love them as He does?
4. Then, what right have you not to love them, too?
E. Let me illustrate loving as Jesus does. A little four-year-old African girl had
been sold as a slave. She had never known what love was. Even her name,
Keodi, meant "Nobody loves me!"
When she grew to be about ten years old, her body became covered with ugly sores.
The natives turned her out and would have nothing to do with her. But some kind
missionaries took Keodi in and cleaned her up, cared for her sores, and put clothes
on her.
At first she could not believe any one loved her. She went about saying, "I am only
Keodi; nobody loves me." The missionaries told her that Jesus loved her, and tried
to teach her what love meant. Then she looked down at her dress, clean body and
bandaged sores, and said, "Is this love?" They told her that it was. And she said, ‘I
am no longer Keodi because Jesus loves me!” Thereafter she was called Akanke
which means, “to know her is to love her.”
God showed His great love to us by giving His only Son to die for us. Jesus showed His
love for us by giving His life for us.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ
also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a
fragrant aroma.” Ephesians 5:1-2 (NASB)
John wrote, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John
4:11 (NASB).
PRAY / INVITE
IF YOU LOVE ME: KEEP ME FIRST, OBEY ME, LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Have you put Jesus first? Have you truly obeyed Him? And do you love as He does?
Those are crucial issues for all who call themselves Christian. Commit to that as we
sing, “My Jesus, I Love Thee.”
